FCC Seeks to Advance Next Generation 911 Framework

The Federal Communications Commission approved a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) seeking comment on how the agency can best adapt its approach to the changing communications landscape and apply these objectives to the next generation of communications technologies and platforms. The FCC invites stakeholders to look beyond today's 911 system, consider how new technologies and services could reshape 911, and provide input on how the FCC can best adapt its approach to meet public safety needs and consumer expectations in the years ahead. Specifically, the FCC asks stakeholders to examine the core objectives of the 911 framework and how to apply these objectives to the next generation of communications technologies and platforms. The Notice aims to explore modernizing the Commission’s decades-old “911 scope” analysis used to determine whether new technologies and services should be subject to the FCC’s 911 framework. The Notice also seeks comment on possible approaches to harmonizing 911 requirements across traditionally separate service categories and inquires how the Commission’s legal authority to regulate 911 applies in the evolving modern communications ecosystem.